// payment practices, as filed · company 02679874
South East Water Ltd: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
South East Water Ltd reports paying its suppliers in an average of 41 days, with 63% of invoices paid later than the agreed terms, for the period 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026. Across the 1,496 companies that report on construction contracts, the median is 31 days and 14% late. Every figure below is the company’s own, approved by a director and published on the government register; this page reproduces it and says what it means for a subcontractor.
41 days
Average days to pay
longer than 74% of the 1,496 filers; median 31 days
63%
Paid later than agreed
a higher share than 96% of filers; median 14%
40%
Paid within 30 days
19% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 60 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 60 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 41%
- Paid after 60 days
- 19%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 0%
- Filed on
- 30 April 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
Standard payment terms are generally 60 days from receipt of a valid invoice. In respect of purchases of goods or services under standard terms of purchase set out in purchase orders the standard and maximum payment period is 60 days from receipt of a valid invoice. [By negotiation some suppliers are paid on terms less than 60 days being generally 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice.] In respect of goods and services contracts the standard and maximum contractual payment period is 60 days from receipt of a valid invoice. [By negotiation of contractual terms some suppliers are paid on ter…
Every filing since Sep 2018
South East Water Ltd has filed 15 times. The share paid late is up 2 points on the previous filing, and the average days to pay unchanged. The first filing, for the period to 30 September 2018, reported 50 days and 85% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2026 | 41 | 63% | 40% | 19% |
| 30 September 2025 | 41 | 61% | 37% | 20% |
| 31 March 2025 | 40 | 66% | 40% | 19% |
| 30 September 2024 | 42 | 66% | 33% | 21% |
| 30 September 2023 | 45 | 70% | 27% | 25% |
| 31 March 2023 | 40 | 63% | 37% | 19% |
Retention
- Retention clauses in construction contracts
- yes
- Standard retention rate
- not stated
- In all construction contracts
- no
- Same terms they receive from their own client
- no
- When they apply retention
- New one off contractors include a retention.
What this means if you are pricing work for them
The share paid later than agreed is the number to read first, because a short term makes an invoice late sooner and a long one hides lateness inside the term. South East Water Ltd is above the median on that measure, so build the delay into your cash flow before you sign. The average days to pay sits over the median.
A worked example on a 30-day term: an invoice of £10,000.00 paid on this company’s average, 11 days after the final date, carries £35.41 of statutory interest at 11.75% plus the fixed sum, £135.41 in all, which the law lets you add without a clause. Run your own figures.
Against the official benchmark: the Department for Business and Trade’s statistics for 2025, published 14 July 2026, put large construction businesses at 33 days to pay with 14% of invoices late by number (13% by value), and all large businesses at 32 days and 15% late. South East Water Ltd is slower than the sector figure. Its late share is above the sector figure.
What the register does not show: it is self-reported, large companies only, and the filing covers the whole company, not your contract. Read it alongside the notice rules that decide what you are actually owed, and keep your own dates.
Questions subcontractors ask about South East Water Ltd
- How long does South East Water Ltd take to pay its suppliers?
- South East Water Ltd reported an average of 41 days to pay an invoice for 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026, with 40% of invoices paid within 30 days and 19% taking longer than 60 days. The official 2025 figure for large construction businesses is 33 days.
- Does South East Water Ltd pay late?
- By its own filing, 63% of South East Water Ltd's invoices were paid later than the agreed terms, against 14% across large construction businesses in 2025 and a median of 14% among the 1,496 companies on this register that declare construction contracts. That is up 2 points on its previous filing (61% for the period to 30 September 2025).
- Does South East Water Ltd hold retention?
- Yes. South East Water Ltd declares retention clauses in its construction contracts, though not in all of them. The filing's own wording is quoted above.
- Can I charge South East Water Ltd interest on a late invoice?
- Yes, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, from the day after the final date for payment, at 8% over the Bank of England base rate plus a fixed sum per invoice, without any clause in the contract. The calculator works it out for your figures.
Source: the company’s own report on the government’s payment practices service, report 111665, made under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Register copy taken 2 October 2026; comparisons are against the latest filing of each of the 1,496 companies declaring construction contracts. Figures are as filed, not judged. Not legal advice.
// read next
- Pay less notice: what it must say and when it must arriveWhat a pay less notice must contain under s.111 of the Construction Act, the deadline (contract or 7 days before the final date), and what happens if it's late.
- Late payment interest rate UK: how the 8% over base rule works, and why the date mattersUK late payment interest is 11.75% for business invoices due from 1 July 2026. How it is set, the £40/£70/£100 fixed sums, and a worked example on £18,400.
- Which main contractors pay late? What the payment practices register saysTen UK main contractors' filed payment figures: average days to pay, share paid late, report links. Median of 1,496 construction filers: 31 days, 14% late.
- Every company that files on construction contractsThe full A to Z, 1,496 filers, each with its own page.